Galactosamine

galactosamine

[gə‚lak′tō·sə‚mēn]

(biochemistry)

C₆H₁₄O₅N A crystalline amino acid derivative of galactose; found in bacterial cell walls.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Galactosamine

 

(also chondrosamine, 2-amino-2-deoxygalactose), an amino sugar; first isolated from cartilaginous tissue. A strong base, readily soluble in water, and optically active.

An important derivative of glactosamine is N-acetyl-galactosamine, which is present as a repeating unit in chondroitin; N-acetylgalactosamine sulfate is present in chondroitin sulfates and keratosulfate. Along with glucosamine, galactosamine is a structural element in the polysaccharide of group-specific mucoids in humans and animals and also as part of the specific polysaccharide of pneumococci.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.